This application claims the priority of German application 197 34 751.7, filed Aug. 12, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a knee protection device in a motor vehicle, and more particularly, to a knee protection device having a bending-resistant load distributor plate which is arranged in the lower area of the dashboard and extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle and is supported on at least one holder in the vehicle which can be bent in an energy-absorbing manner.
DE 40 03 952 A1 describes a motor vehicle knee protection device which comprises a metallic load distributor plate coated with foam on the vehicle-interior-side surface and disposed on a holder. The plate can be bent in an energy-absorbing manner, and at knee level in the vehicle interior so that it can be swivelled about a bearing point. The coating made of foamed material prevents that an occupant suffers a hard impact during the normal driving operation on the inflexible metallic load distributor plate.
As the result of its plane construction, the known load distributor plate is to form an impacting possibility for the occupant's knees along a wide area and not deform in the process so that it can introduce the introduced forces in a targeted and predeterminable manner into the deformable holding devices. In the event of a crash and a resulting impact of an occupant at a high force onto this knee protection device, the occupant's knees are pressed through the foamed-material coating and strike against the hard load distributor plate. Unfortunately, a relatively soft surface is combined with a particularly bending-resistant and hard load distributor plate which can undesirably contribute to an injury of the occupant's knees in the event of a hard impact during a crash.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,314 describes a corresponding hard load distributor plate which transmits force with a high stiffness and is foam-coated on the surface, is arranged on holding devices which can be deformed in an energy-absorbing manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,136 shows a metallic knee impact element behind a dashboard panel which is to be deformed during the impact of the occupant's knees and is to adapt itself to the knee so that the knee will not slide off the knee impact element. A targeted introduction of force into the bearing cannot be achieved in this manner.
DE 38 03 643 C2, DE 20 61 595 A1, DE 42 32 846 A1, DE 195 02 226 C1, JP 6-183306 (A), DE 195 11 512 A1 and DE 43 21 302 A1 describe knee cushions which are disposed on flexible holding devices and have no specific stably constructed plate which distributes the load. Furthermore, panel plates are shown in DE 44 18 628 A1 and EP 0 684 164 A1 which are carried by an air bag in the event of a crash.
Reference is also made as general background to DE 41 05 027 C1, DE 30 29 913 A1, EP 03 78 314 B1, DE 42 20 704 C2 and DE 23 32 420 A1 which show knee protection cushions which are disposed on metal plates and which do not interact with holding devices which can be deformed in an absorbing manner in the event of a crash.